A Small Bump In The Road
by Sakurane
Summary: Beca and Jesse are in their Senior year at Barden, and things are going smoothly. Beca's big-city dreams may be put on hold when she discovers that she is pregnant. Faced with several difficult decisions, will Beca learn that sometimes people will stand by you no matter what, or will she push away the people closest to her?
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own Pitch Perfect characters. Or Star Wars, obviously. I haven't actually seen Star Wars either, so I can't give any real details in this chapter… too bad!**

Beca stood in the hallway, dressed in her most comfortable sweater and carrying a large bowl of popcorn. She was steeling herself for yet another movie night with her boyfriend of nearly four years, Jesse Swanson.

The popcorn was part of their agreement—she supplied the food and snarky commentaries, Jesse provided the cinematic masterpieces to torture her. The original pain that she'd felt towards films had numbed a bit, only due to gross over-exposure, but she still got antsy during pretty much all movies.

Beca always insisted that The Breakfast Club was an exception.

Though in reality, she didn't hate movies nearly so much as she pretended anymore. Watching Jesse's joy for them was enough for her to enjoy herself most of the time.

She knocked on the door and his eyes lit up when he saw her. Beca swore that if Jesse had been a dog, his tail would have been wagging uncontrollably. She closed the door behind her, handing the popcorn to him.

Jesse and Benji's dorm room hadn't changed a bit. It was still every bit as dorky as she remembered, with toys (Benji insisted that they were collectible action figures, very valuable) and a shrine devoted to Star Wars and magic. Jesse had gotten Benji a life-size Princess Leia poster, but Beca had made them tear it down because it creeped her out—every time she and Jesse would make out on his bed, Princess Side-Bun-Braids would be staring at them from across the room. Jesse's half was a little more tame, much more musically oriented with posters and cd's, mostly soundtracks.

"So does this mean we're almost to the end of our movie-cation?" Beca asked Jesse, who was now propped up in his bed with his laptop open, popcorn in his lap.

"Now, why would you say that?"

She'd spotted the open movie box on Jesse's desk. _Star Wars._

"Because you're introducing me to the Goliath of movies. I figured Star Wars was kind of the end of the line, the grande finale…"

"Beca, Beca, Beca," He shook his head sadly, "You should know that the Movie experience is never over. I'll always have more to show you."

She gave him her usual grimace, but didn't complain. She sat next to him on the bed, curling into his side like she always did. Jesse started the movie while Beca shoved a handful of popcorn into her mouth.

She alternated between criticizing the movie in her mind (or sometimes out-loud) and watching Jesse's facial expressions. They were so expansive that Beca never saw the same one twice. He mouthed the words once in a while, and Beca's attention was then on those soft lips that had touched hers so many times over the past few years.

"Enter the Darth Father." Beca said lowly when the villain appeared for the first time, and Jesse elbowed her in the ribs.

"Don't hate, just appreciate."

She snorted.

Jesse considered it pretty impressive when she only fell asleep three times. He would gently nudge her awake every time—because as much as he enjoyed watching her sleeping, cuddling next to him—Star Wars was far more important. He was improving the world by exposing Beca, the non-believer, to the brilliance that is film-making.

Near the end of the movie, Jesse started saying the lines, his voice a low murmur beneath the sound of the actors. As he'd told Beca over and over, endings were the best part, and so he had most endings memorized.

"Why do I even need to watch all these movies, when you could just recite them to me? We'd save some serious time. And have more time to make-out."

"I'm not even going to dignify that with a response."

He closed his laptop with a resounding clunk, giving Beca his most boyish grin, and she found herself staring into his earnest brown eyes.

"So, what did you think? Seriously, all sarcasm aside."

"I… might not have hated it," She admitted, and couldn't help but smile as Jesse looked like a child on Christmas morning, "And I don't think that Darth Vader will be getting the Dad-Of-The-Year award."

"Do you ever think about… having kids?" Jesse asked this in his most innocent manor, the tone he used when he was tiptoe-ing around a subject that might make Beca more volatile than usual.

She fixed him in a disbelieving stare. "You're seriously thinking about children after watching that?"

"Well, you know, this wasn't like the first time or anything…" He started to look nervous and was avoiding her eyes.

Beca was silently mulling over the concept. She'd been going out with Jesse for nearly three years, they were starting to plan their future together… so of course the idea of having kids with him had crossed her mind. But she'd never entertained it seriously, because babies were _so _not in her plans right now. And she wasn't all that sure that Jesse was thinking it through, either. He often just spoke his mind.

He probably wasn't serious right now, she told herself. He was just asking a question, nothing more.

She reached for his hand and ran her thumb along the skin on the back, quickly, as if she was afraid of such affectionate actions. "I think you'd make a great dad." She said honestly. "Better than Darth Vader, anyway. I don't think you'd try to lure our son to the dark side. Maybe just force him to sing show-tunes with you."

"With those standards, how could I possibly compete?" Jesse returned sarcastically. He put an arm around his girlfriend and gave her his usual goofy, lovestruck smile.

"Do you really think I'd make a good dad?"

Beca started to feel uncomfortable with the intimacy of the question. It just opened way too many doors… so she responded with deflection.

"Yeah, the best. You'd have so much in common with your child… like your love of juice boxes and Disney movies," She said, "And just to nip this in the bud, you are forbidden from naming any of your future children Luke."

Jesse made a face. "Eww, no, _gross_! The risk of the kid growing up to be a conceited asshole would be way too high."

"Hey! That asshole got me connections in the music world, so lay off!" Beca said, referring to Luke from the radio station. He'd left her in charge of the station, leaving her free to play her mixes to her heart's content. Since a few influential people had heard them and started asking about artist, she was now closer to a great job in L.A because of him.

"Doesn't change the fact that he's an ass."

"Well lucky for you, I'm only interested in dorks." Beca smirked, and Jesse leaned in to kiss her.

Little did Beca know, the question that she'd avoided would soon be coming back to haunt her.


	2. Suga Suga How'd Ya Get So Fly?

**Author's Note: I do not own Pitch Perfect or its characters.**

**The song for this chapter is Suga Suga by Baby Bash, I played it on repeat. It just reminds me of Beca for some reason! I have to give a big sorry to my reader—this update has been much later than I planned! I'm writing it at 1:30 at night, so there isn't much editing involved… in other words, don't treat me to harshly if there are some mistakes! **

** "**_You got me lifted shifted higher than a ceiling_

_And ooh wee it's the ultimate feeling_

_You got me lifted feeling so gifted_

_Sugar how you get so fly?"_

** &.& **

Beca was sprawled underneath the shade of a tree on the lawn of Barden University. A twig was digging into her back was the only thing stopping her from drifting to sleep. Her headphones drowned out all the noise of the students, and she relaxed to the sounds of Suga Suga by Baby Bash. The song reminded her of her childhood, because she's listened to it all the time in middle school… before her parents had split up. She found herself humming along just because she liked the song, _not _because the Treblemakers had chosen to sing it for Regionals and Jesse had sang it to her in the shower that morning. Even though she had a rule of no singing when they were both in the shower (one traumatic shower duet was enough for one lifetime) she'd made an exception because Jesse had been so excited when he told her about the group's song choice.

She was still debating what the Bellas would be singing for their performance. Now that Beca was co-leader along with Amy, she now understood why the stress had made Aubrey a crazy aca-terror. Besides song choices, which consumed most of Beca's focus anyway, she had to think about choreography and additional performances around campus, as well as writing up rehearsal plans… it gave her a headache just thinking about it.

Her nose wrinkled as she smelled something other than the fresh air. She opened one eye and looked up into the face of her adorkable boyfriend. He grinned and held out a white paper takeout bag.

Beca sat up and snorted.

"And you're interrupting my peaceful afternoon, why?"

"Because I missed your shining personality and sparkling attitude." Jesse shot back, plopping down beside her on the grass. She took the proffered bag and opened it. He'd gone to their favorite hot-dog stand, even though it was nearly twenty minutes away. There were two hotdogs inside, one smothered in mustard the way Beca liked it, and a dish piled high with chili fries.

The smell assailed her nose, hitting her like a freight train, and suddenly her stomach flipped over. She thrust the entire bag away from her, taking a breath of fresh air.

Jesse looked at her worriedly. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah, sorry, I just don't think I feel like chili fried today."

His eyebrows drew together. "But you love chili fries!"

"Well, I guess they just don't love me today," She grimaced, "Please, just take them away. Feed them to Bumper or something, maybe it'll shut him up for a while. He'd probably make a better trash disposal than human being."

Jesse smiled. "That's probably true. You're sure you don't want any of this?"

"No. I will take my hotdog though."

Beca made easy work of hers (she flipped Jesse the bird when he wagged his eyebrows at her suggestively) and she started flipping through her ipod again. Jesse watched her grow more and more frustrated.

"So have you decided on a song for Regionals?"

She groaned. "God, don't even remind me! I have to pick out some potentials by the end of the week, but my mind's just blank! I always have creative ideas, that's supposed to be my thing!"

"You don't have to do everything yourself, Beca. You're only human, let someone else shoulder some of the responsibility too. I know you're the leader now, but that doesn't mean that you're their lord and master. Why don't you have some of the girls think up some?"

"You know what, Jesse? I really love you sometimes." She said, planting a chaste kiss on his lips. She hadn't even noticed, but she'd started acting just like Aubrey—a power mongering dictator. She'd been afraid of letting the Bellas down, or not getting them to Nationals, or just not being a good leader, but she'd forgotten that they were a _group. _They made decisions together, made mistakes together, and in the end, they won together.

"I guess "sometimes" is better than not at all." Jesse joked, putting an arm around her and kissing her temple.

"You'd better believe it. Don't get too greedy, Swanson, you're lucky to have uncovered my sweet personality underneath my ear spike. Most guys haven't gotten that far. I think I send them running."

"It was easier than you think."

"Why—because I wasn't wearing glasses when you met me?"

"It's because you're an easy girl for me to love, Beca."

&.&

"Alright, nerds, let's see what you've got!" Beca called out to the rest of the girls.

The lineup hadn't changed much since Beca had come to Barden, but they had added a few freshmen to the mix, new blood that would take over when the majority of the Bellas graduated.

Demi Martinez was a petite girl with thick-rimmed glasses and a beanie over her dark hair. She didn't say much, but she had a voice with tone like honey.

Melissa was their best beat-maker, and Stacie had taken her under her wing when the younger girl had announced that her dream was to be a Bachelorette at her audition. The two were a deadly combination when it came to men, because Melissa was just as voracious as Stacie was.

Marley and Megan were twins whose only clothes seemed to come from Hollister, and they were perfect California Clones with beach ready waves and slammin' bodies, even if their high pitch voices made Beca want to kill herself. She put up with them only because they could harmonize perfectly.

Their final addition, and their secret weapon, was an average-looking girl with straight black hair and freckles named Alex. Alex had screamed endlessly as a baby and damaged her vocal chords. When the doctors had operated when she'd gotten older, they'd left her with a slightly huskier voice that could hit notes almost as low as Chloe when she sang. She was the Bellas' savior, because it was thanks to their range, despite being all female, that lead to the victory at the Finals last year.

Melissa raised her hand first and blurted out, "Wannabe by the Spice Girls."

There was silence, and Beca felt that she needed to encourage willingness to speak up, and she said, "Okay, that's a good start. It's a classic. We can work with that."

"How 'bout Beyoncé?" Megan suggested.

Marley agreed with her twin. "Yeah, she's pretty much the hottest female artist ever."

"I'm going to suggest some Nicki Minaj mashing, because you know I can really get funky with that." Fat Amy said.

"Excuse me, but when did the but when did we revert to the boring Bellas? Singing songs that were made famous by women was Aubrey's M.O. I thought we moved past this." Cynthia Rose interrupted.

Beca spoke up, "Cynthia's right- we need to think outside of the box a bit. We'll never beat the Trebles if we can't get creative."

They volleyed ideas back and forth, hitting every artist from The Lumineers to Justin Bieber. They weren't really getting anywhere, however.

Demi, who had been quiet until now, bit her lip and said, "I've been thinking about what Melissa said in the beginning, and I think I have an idea…"

She trailed off, but Beca nodded towards her encouragingly.

"Wannabe may be an old song, but we're known for our layering, right? So why can't we make it new and interesting? It's got sass, and that's exactly what we need."

There were murmurs of agreement. Beca suppressed a smile. She'd admitted to Jesse ages ago that Demi had always been her favorite—she was a sort of lone spirit that reminded Beca of herself.

"Okay, along that line of thinking..." Beca racked her brain for songs that could match up with Wannabe, "How about That's Not My Name by The Ting Tings? It's upbeat, it's catchy…"

"Yeah, I like that one. It had a really good message too, you know." Fat Amy said. Everyone just looked at her, but said nothing.

Stacie began, "I can't even count the number of times that a boy's called me the wrong name in bed—"

Beca interrupted her, "Okay, let's not follow Stacie's example on this subject... Back on topic, has anybody heard of Shiny Toy Guns?..."

&.&

**There's a little introduction to some new members of the gang, I hope you like them! Love it? Hate it? Review it.**


	3. Turnabout Lake

**Author's note: I would like to thank all the readers of this story for being so patient. I feel terrible for the lateness of this update. I planned for this chapter to be really long and actually have some plot development, but I've decided to split it into two—for this part, it's largely fluff/humor, but I promise that it'll go somewhere in the next chapter that will be up very soon!**

Most people think of Sunday as a throw-away day—a day to catch up on sleep, nurse a hang-over, or feverishly write an essay due on Monday (sometimes all three).

Jesse Swanson obviously hadn't gotten the memo, because he was jumping on Beca's bed on a Sunday morning like a five-year-old. Beca groaned and glared blurry-eyed at her boyfriend.

"Remind me why I keep you, again?"

"Because you love me. Now come on, get out of bed, Becs! It's a bright new day, don't waste the morning!" He said, trying to pull the covers off her.

"Jesse, I know that things may be different on your planet, but here on Earth, college students use the morning for _sleeping._" She said, yanking the covers over her head. "And how the hell did you get in here, anyway?"

"Kimmie Jin let me in. Then she picked up her bonzaii tree and walked out, muttering about needing a break from the "white people"."

Beca murmured, "That means she likes you."

"I'd hate to see how she treats the people she hates."

"She probably keep a bunch of ninja stars and poison darts under her bed just for such occasions." She yawned. Jesse stopped jumping and instead collapsed on top of her, fixing her with his best puppy dog eyes.

"Oh my god, what are you, five?!" She squirmed, trapped under his body weight.

"No, I'm just a twenty-two year old who's completely in love with his girlfriend and _really _wants to take her out for some fun."

"I don't like fun." Beca mumbled, but her voice had softened.

And Jesse knew that he'd won.

As it turned out, Jesse's idea of fun included all of the Treble Makers and the Barden Bellas stuck on a bus together for two hours. He insisted that it would be good for the Bellas and the Trebles to bond before they tore each other apart at Regionals, and Beca supposed that was fair. The hostility between the two acapella groups had diminished greatly since Bumper had ditched them for L.A, and the couples who had blossomed since then had reduced the hate to more of a friendly rivalry. Fat Amy had intimidated Kolio, the uptight sweater-vest-wearing recruit from last year, into going on several dates with her. A new Treble member, Jun, was obviously crushing on Demi, and quite painfully. Everyone had expected Lilly and Donald to end up together due to their beat-boxing connection, but Donald had started spending a lot of time with Stacie last summer. The result was obvious, as the beat-boxer drove the bus with Stacy on his lap.

"See now, Beca, that's how couple that are in love are _supposed _to act." Jessie ribbed her. Beca glared at him from the seat that she shared with Amy.

"Go jump in a lake." She shot back.

"I think that can be arranged." He winked, and she rolled her eyes.

As it turned out, Jesse would be leaping in a lake of his own free will. The twins, Marley and Megan, came from a rich family and they owned a large piece of land by a lake. As they pulled off the road, Beca had to admit that it was a beautiful spot—the clear blue lake was visible, with a path leading to the rocky and clay beach. There was even a long dock and a tire swing. Basically, it was paradise, even if Beca wouldn't give Jesse the satisfaction of admitting it.

"But I didn't even bring a swimsuit!" She complained. She'd just thrown on a black t-shirt and some shorts.

Jessie shrugged. "You should have planned ahead."

"You didn't tell me where we were going!"

"Guess you'll just have to swim in your underwear—it's basically the same thing anyway."

She thought that her underwear was probably more modest than the Victoria's Secret bikinis that the twins were breaking out.

"You did this on purpose." She hissed at him, and Jessie grinned good-naturedly.

"Last one to the water is a rotten egg!"

"I guess I'm just rotten, then." Beca said to herself, but Jessie was already out the door, carrying inflatables and bags of food out of the compartment below the bus.

Amy threw herself off the dock in a cannonball, and Beca joined the group by the lake. There was no point in fighting it; and as her boyfriend divested himself of his shirt, she decided that maybe she wouldn't even try this time.

&.&

_I'm the opposite of moderate, immaculately polished_

_With the spirit of a hustler_

_And the swagger of a college kid_

_-Live Your Life by Rihanna and T.I_

Beca was not made for sports, and although every competitive bone in her body screamed for vengeance, she knew that she had just gotten her ass served to her in beach volleyball. In her defense, the only Bellas who were even fractionally athletic were Demi and surprisingly, Lilly, while the twins squealed every time the ball flew in their direction, Fat Amy underestimated her strength and hit it out of bounds, Melissa was constantly adjusting her bikini, and Demi wanted nothing to do with the game at all, while Alex sat in the shade with a physics text book in hand. Cynthia Rose at least tried, and Stacie had the strategy of distracting the boys with her huge knockers. Beca herself just completely lacked coordination, and had a permanent scowl on her face after she'd accidentally hit herself in the face for the third time.

They lost, and the Trebles did not let an opportunity to brag get away from them. As punishment, the girls had to carry the boys to the campground on their backs. Jesse had volunteered to be with Beca, of course, and his joyous grin made Beca want to smack him. Only Fat Amy had no trouble carrying Kolio the entire distance, swung over her shoulder and jostling him as she walked.

"This is just like wrestling dingos back home! We had to tie em' up and carry them for miles!" she explained cheerfully, and the others exchanged bemused glances. Beca staggered after her, but was determined to prove that she could support her boyfriend's body weight.

Jesse's chuckle reverberated in his bare chest against her back, and she suppressed a shiver.

Trying to cover her reaction, she said, "Maybe you should lay off the chili fries."

"It's all muscle!" He protested.

She snorted. "I'm pretty sure that the only muscle you actually use consistently are your vocal chords."

Jesse was silent for a few beats, than asked in a painfully childish voice, "Are vocal chords even muscles?"

&.&

Jesse felt triumphant as Beca finally stripped, leaving her in only a bra and underwear—luckily they had enough coverage and material (and not a scrap of lace anywhere) so that she was only moderately uncomfortable. She wasn't shy, but she never made a big deal out of her body, even though it was perfect in his eyes. Sometimes, even in the privacy of his dorms after they made love ("It's called having sex.", Beca would say while rolling her eyes) she would fold her arms over her naked breasts, or hide herself behind a sheet while she changed. She didn't parade her body around like Megan or Marley, and this was one of the quirks that Jesse loved about her. But that didn't mean he couldn't appreciate the rare moments when he managed tot catch her off guard like this one, when she was forced to be a little out of her comfort zone—and out of her clothes.

She stared at her pale arms mournfully, noticing that they were already turning pink. It was the white girl's curse, after all. Then she knew _exactly _how to get back at Jesse for "forgetting" to tell her to bring a swimsuit. She hadn't missed the way that his gaze had roamed over her body—Jesse was never subtle about his adoration of her naked body. A sly smile came to her lips.

Stretching out on Fat Amy's beach towel, she said pitifully, "Gosh, I really wish someone would help me get some sunscreen on."

From where he was talking to Benji, Jesse perked up.

"I really need to _slather_ it on. But I don't think I can get my back."

In seconds, Jesse was by her side, graciously offering to help her out. Beca reached for the bottle of sunscreen and applied some to her arms at a leisurely pace. Jesse watched intently, especially when she moved to her legs. She channeled every sexy music video that she'd ever seen, and even though it felt ridiculous, she could tell that Jesse's breath hitched. She stroked her legs as slowly as was humanly possible, making a point to look at her boyfriend from under her lashes.

"I can help you with that, you know." Jesse said, but Beca didn't reply.

When she was finished, she decided to add icing to the torture-cake. Demi was lying a few feet away, and the called the younger girl over. She regarded Beca with curiosity and slight confusion, but she caught on after seeing Jesse's hungry look.

"Hey, Demi, could you be a doll and get my back for me? You might have to unhook my bra…"

Demi's expression was trained in her best poker face. "Sure thing."

She opened the sunscreen and rubbed it on Beca's back in slow circles.

"Come a little closer, you can't reach from that far away." Beca said. Demi pressed up against her as much as she could without making it a full on lesbian scene. After a few minutes, she unhooked Beca's black bra, slowly and deliberately allowing Beca to cover herself as she slipped the straps away from her shoulders and applied sunscreen there, too.

Jesse was practically drooling.

When Demi finished, she capped the sunscreen and went back to her own towel, laughing to herself. The older Bella owed her one.

Beca shrugged at her helpless boyfriend. "Sorry, looks like I didn't need your help after all."

Jesse's mouth fell open in understanding. "You're a cruel woman, you know that?"

"Turnabout's fair play, my sweet, innocent boyfriend." Beca gave her cattiest smirk, staring pointedly at Jesse's swim trunks. "And now it looks like someone might need a cold shower, because I won't be helping you out for a while… but maybe a cold lake will do."

&.&

**Next time: The Bellas and Trebles do their singin' thing around the campfire, and all seems well until Beca starts to feel ill… she and Jesse are going to have to wake up and face the music! Read and review, y'all, I'd love constructive criticism!**


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